Counselor's duties
Sec. 11. A domestic relations counselor shall, when directed by
the judge of any domestic relations court, perform the following
duties in domestic relations cases and such other duties as the judge
of the domestic relations court assigns to the counselor:
(1) The domestic relations counselor shall promptly receive all
requests for counseling services for the purpose of disposing of
the requests under this chapter.
(2) Whenever a petition is filed and either party requests
counseling, the domestic relations counselor shall, in the
counselor's discretion:
(A) interview and counsel each plaintiff and, if feasible and
desirable, each defendant; or
(B) confer with both jointly;
for the purpose of reconciling the differences between the
parties and making recommendations to the judge of the
domestic relations court.
(3) In each case assigned to the domestic relations court in
which the custody, support, or welfare of a child is involved, in
order to protect and conserve the interest of the child, the
domestic relations counselor shall investigate and report upon:
(A) the status and condition of the parties to the cause;
(B) the status and condition of the child;
(C) the provisions made or to be made for the protection of
the welfare of the child; and
(D) any other matter pertaining to the marriage that may
affect the welfare of the child.
(4) Upon request of the domestic relations court judge, the
counselor shall:
(A) make post-dissolution studies of problems arising in
connection with child custody, support, and parenting time;
(B) provide assistance to the parties in the enforcement of
support orders; and
(C) cause reports to be made and statistics to be compiled,
which records and reports shall be kept as the judge of the
domestic relations court may direct.
(5) The counselor shall provide such supervision in connection
with the exercise of the jurisdiction of the domestic relations
court as the judge may order.
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.68-2005, SEC.9.
Last modified: May 24, 2006